WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has given 36 countries, most of them in Africa, a Wednesday deadline to commit to improve vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States.
A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department instructs embassies and consulates in the 36 countries to gauge their host countries’ willingness by Wednesday to improve their citizens’ travel documentation and take steps to address the status of their nationals who are in the United States illegally.
The cable, which was described to The Associated Press, asks the countries to take action to address the U.S. concerns within 60 days or risk being added to the current travel ban, which now includes 12 nations. Of the 36 new countries targeted, 25 are in Africa.
It is the latest step by the Trump administration to crack down on those who overstay their visas and tying U.S. entries from certain countries to potential national security risks. Trump has said some countries have “deficient” screening and vetting or have historically refused to take back their own citizens. Some countries condemned the travel restrictions and vowed reciprocal actions, while some resettlement groups say the ban sows division.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce declined to comment on the specifics in the cable, which was first reported by The Washington Post. She confirmed that the administration wanted nations to improve their own vetting processes for passport holders, accept their nationals deported from the U.S. and take other steps to ensure their citizens are not a threat to the U.S.
“We’re looking at providing a period of time, (where if countries) don’t get to that point where we can trust them and they’ve got to change the system, update it, do whatever they need to do to convince us that we can trust the process and the information they have,” she said.
It was not immediately clear if the ban would be imposed on countries that commit to making improvements and are making progress in addressing them but fail to meet the benchmarks within 60 days.
The list includes some countries that have been traditional U.S. partners, including Egypt and Djibouti, both of which have military relationships with United States, and others that long been friendly with the U.S., including Liberia, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Syria, which was left off the initial travel ban, as was Congo, are both on the new list.
South Sudan is already subject to a separate travel ban imposed by the State Department, which has revoked the visas of most South Sudanese already in the U.S.
President Donald Trump this month enacted a travel ban on 12 countries and imposed restrictions on seven others, although no previously issued visas have been revoked. His proclamation instead banned issuing new visas to citizens of the 12 countries.
That ban included Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Heightened visa restrictions will apply to citizens of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The 36 countries identified in the new cable are: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Ethiopia, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
